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The drop in CD4% is troubling to me, down from 15% 3 months ago, but without a rebound in VL I don't know why this would happen?

Patience, Mr. Hellraiser. From what I've read and what my doctor tells me, it can take a long time for the immune system to build itself. Years. The awesome part is that your viral load is under control. I'm not sure there's more you can do, except continue to keep it under control, and let your immune system rebuild itself.

Oh, you could / should also be taking your PCP prophylactic. But I think that's been covered here before.

Henry

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"Life in Lubbock, Texas, taught me two things: One is that God loves you and you're going to burn in hell. The other is that sex is the most awful, filthy thing on earth and you should save it for someone you love." - Butch Hancock, Musician, The Flatlanders

Some people that went down to single digits upon diagnosis just take a long, long time to rebuild their immune system, and have periodic dips in their numbers.

i totally agree

it was 1999 when I was last down to 12my cd4 didn't even hit a 200+ number until 2005(that was a full 7.5 yrs after I had pneumonia - PCP was 9.5 earlier)it didn't stay consistently above 200 until 2007so I stayed on bactrim for 10 yrs.

i too think you're playing with fire HR. with ony 149 cd4s you should still be treating your health as if you in the "aids zone". Just because you're vl is UD doesn't prevent an OI from being a problem when your immune system is that low.

I find it seriously worrying that you've not been taking something for PCP for as long as you have.

I agree.

Ms. Trey, you need to stop eating what the chicken pecks and reassess this matter. You deserve a good smacking around, Moonstruck style. Get serious, chile.

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"I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else."

Quiet you two, Will might hear you! I said I was investigating Dapsone!

What's to investigate? Do it! You've had PCP once. You've read the stories of other members here who have had PCP, and how it has permanently damaged their lungs, and reduced their lung function.

I don't get it.

Regarding Toulouse St., I'm thinking Mr. Hellraiser is more likely to be found either upstairs at The Phoenix, or in the back room at Rawhide. What say you, Trey?

Edited to add: Dapsone is also use to treat leprosy and skin infections, two very real possibilities if he is spending time at any of the establishments we have mentioned.

« Last Edit: May 19, 2011, 12:15:02 AM by Buckmark »

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"Life in Lubbock, Texas, taught me two things: One is that God loves you and you're going to burn in hell. The other is that sex is the most awful, filthy thing on earth and you should save it for someone you love." - Butch Hancock, Musician, The Flatlanders

I don't have anything to add, except I thought of you, Trey, when NBC News was live in Natchez talking about the river being shut down. I know there's been a lot of ribbing about truck stops, but what about all those barge captains, deck hands, and seamen? Oh, you should take your prophylactic med. Has that been said here?

Regarding Toulouse St., I'm thinking Mr. Hellraiser is more likely to be found either upstairs at The Phoenix, or in the back room at Rawhide. What say you, Trey?

Busted.

I do plan on going on dapsone I actually took Mepron pretty religiously for 6 months and then I just couldn't stomach the taste any more. Meant to get on Dapsone then but I was a lot less outspoken to my doctor then so I just stopped (and started again due to someone's well intentioned nagging).

Trey - all jokes aside (even though they were funny) - you need to be addressing this now - not planning it, but doing it.... don't throw away all the gains you have made by neglecting to take care of what you need to take care of. You started this new update by saying that you were concerned about the drop in your cd4% - if you are actually concerned about it, then take the dayummm meds to prevent the PCP. You know that getting your cd4% up is based on a host of factors - one includes ensuring that you are preventing other infections that you are susceptible to from your counts being under 200. Don't let this virus get the upper hand.

Care about you dude ---- now get busy and take care of yourself --- dayuuummm it!

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

I thought the same thing, but didn't want to make the comparison. I know they are different, but feels just a tad similar. Trey, I hope you're not mad at us. You know we love ya!

It feels very similar. Trey, I bet you're thinking "I feel ok" and "it won't happen to me (again)". Very similar to how Etay thought. Wise up please, before you find yourself back in hospital on a ventilator. With CD4s like yours, hiv meds aren't always enough. Get on a prophylaxis ASAP before it's too late!

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts